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Senior North Korean diplomat reportedly defected from Cuba to South Korea {{^userSubscribed}} {{/userSubscribed}} {{^userSubscribed}} {{/userSubscribed}}
SEOUL – A senior North Korean diplomat in Cuba defected to South Korea in November with his wife and children, South Korean media reported Tuesday, making him the first senior North Korean diplomat to defect to South Korea since 2016.
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South Korea’s leading newspaper Chosun Ilbo, citing an interview with Lee Il-gyu, reported that Lee, 52, served as a counselor at the North Korean embassy in Cuba before defecting to South Korea. Yonhap News Agency, citing anonymous government sources, also reported that Lee had defected to South Korea.
South Korea’s Unification Ministry, which is in charge of inter-Korean affairs, declined to comment on the report, citing privacy concerns.
According to the Chosun Ilbo, one of Ri’s tasks at the embassy was to block North Korea’s rival South Korea and longtime ally Cuba from establishing diplomatic ties, which the two countries did in February.
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Ri said he and his family had fled Cuba but did not go into detail about how they managed the dangerous escape.
“I bought a plane ticket and six hours before I left I called my wife and children to tell them my decision. I didn’t say South Korea, but I said I was going to live overseas,” he said.
North Koreans caught attempting to defect face severe punishment, including the death penalty, according to human rights groups and people who have successfully escaped.
The number of North Koreans arriving in South Korea has fallen in recent years due to tight border controls with China and high intermediation fees, rights groups and experts say.
According to South Korean government data, 196 North Korean defectors reached Seoul last year, down from 2,700 a decade ago. Human rights activists say most of those who have recently made it to South Korea are people who, like Ri, had been living overseas for a long time.
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It often takes months for details about defectors to emerge, as they need permission from authorities and undergo an education course on South Korean society and the system.
Disillusionment
Ri joined North Korea’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs in 1999 and was awarded a commendation by North Korea’s supreme leader, Kim Jong Un, in 2013 for successfully negotiating with Panama to release a North Korean ship carrying weapons from Cuba, according to the Korea News Agency.
He told the paper that he decided to leave because of disillusionment with the administration and what he felt was an unfair assessment of his work.
Ri said he finally decided to run when his application to travel to Mexico for treatment was rejected last year, adding that his parents and parents-in-law, who could have faced retribution for defecting, are now deceased.
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The last known high-profile defector to South Korea was Thae Yong-ho, a former North Korean deputy ambassador to the UK, in 2016.
South Korean President Yun Seok-yeo attended the first “North Korean Defectors Day” ceremony on Sunday and promised increased financial support for defectors and tax breaks for companies that employ them.
North Korea closed several embassies last year as part of efforts to “efficiently reorganize its diplomatic capabilities,” but South Korea says the closures show Pyongyang is struggling under the strain of sanctions.
North Korea maintains an embassy in Cuba, but its ambassador returned home in March, according to media reports.
Ri said many North Koreans dream of living in South Korea, hoping to give their children a better future in impoverished countries.
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This article has been generated from an automated news agency feed without any modifications to the text.
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